Darren Till was as perplexed as the rest of the MMA world when Conor McGregor’s big UFC 329 return bout against Max Holloway ended in anticlimactic fashion. Yet despite the Irishman’s 69-second injury loss, Till isn’t buying into the notion that McGregor was mentally checked out walking into his first fight since 2021.
McGregor, 38, blew out his right ACL and meniscus at the very beginning of his return earlier this month, starting the bout with a bold jumping switch kick. It was instant disaster for the former two-division champion, as McGregor hobbled the best he could for the remainder of the fight until it was mercifully waved off a minute later.
Till admitted Wednesday on “The Ariel Helwani Show” that he was wildly confused by the fight as it played out. But in the aftermath, Till forcefully pushed back against the MMA community’s claims that McGregor looked off during his walk to the Octagon.
“What does that [body language critique] even mean?” Till told Uncrowned. “That’s like when people say you don’t want to have any arguments with your girlfriend fight week [or] you don’t want your girlfriend staying with you fight week. What does that mean? If you’re having an argument with your girlfriend the night before a fight, everything goes out the window? All your training? You just forget to throw a jab and all that s***? Because you’ve had an argument, you go in that cage and everything’s off?
“If that is the case, you shouldn’t fight. You’re a f***ing muppet. Get out of the sport. That wouldn’t stop me from throwing a jab or fighting the way I’ve fought. You spend 12 weeks in the gym getting ready for a fight. You’ve done all your sparring, all your conditioning, your weight training, your running — and you have a little blip in camp, you have an argument, and, ‘Ah, fight’s off. Body language.’ People who say that don’t know fighting.”
Having been a high-level competitor for the better part of the past decade, Till views the take hyper-critiquing McGregor’s body language as one born from those with a lack of experience. He pointed to notable examples of legendary fighters showing what could be perceived as weaknesses before a fight, only to win like nothing was wrong.
“Jon Jones doesn’t look at his opponents when he does faceoffs, so what does that mean?” Till asked. “Or if someone puts their head down, then wins? All this body language s*** is bulls***. It’s just this new age of … weak-a** people who just don’t know what’s going on.
“If you know how to fight, you know how to fight. That’s the bottom f***ing line of it.”
Till, 33, has experienced plenty of ups and downs throughout his own career, though they’re mostly limited to fight results rather than trouble outside of combat.
Currently on a good stretch of four straight wins post-UFC, Till said he never turned to mental coaches, which has become a common theme among fighters over the years.
“I’m not trying to s*** on it, but at the same time, me and me coach speak about it — if you really need someone to tell you that you’re this and that, you’re a bit of a muppet,” Till said. “You’re a f***ing muppet. Just go to the gym, get your hard rounds done, do your work. Train really hard. Do your conditioning. That is factual science around fighting.”
As for another McGregor comeback, which the Irish superstar has vowed to pursue once he’s healed from his torn knee ligaments, Till has no interest in watching.
“I wouldn’t like to see him come back, because it probably tarnishes even more what he’s done,” Till said. “People forget, 2015 Conor, he was that guy. He was winning.
“Would I say he’s the best UFC fighter of all time? No. He just gained the fame with his mouth and stuff like that. But for him, is he just holding onto something? He’s older now, been out the game five years. Obviously people say he’s abused his body, but I don’t know. People like to talk. … There’s never been any proof. You don’t know if he’s abused his body or not. He always looks like he’s in shape. … As long as he’s fighting, that’s my thing with him.
“He’s got money. Just be a promoter and the guy you are.”
Till returns to action for a big-time matchup against Yoel Romero in his second BKFC appearance at BKFC 92 on Sept. 26.
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